Counsel registry

RL Drolet Patent Prosecution Services

3 case appearances — 1 as plaintiff counsel · 2 as defendant counsel.

Generating firm summary with web-search grounding — usually 30-60s. Don’t leave this page.

Attorneys

Further reading

Joint defense groups: economics, formation, and the privilege framework
An NPE sues twenty defendants on one patent. Solo, each faces $3-5M in defense costs. Pooled into a joint defense group, the per-defendant number drops to $200-500K. The economics only work if the privilege framework is set up correctly.
Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc. (1996)
Claim construction is exclusively the court's job. The Markman hearing is the most consequential single ruling in nearly every patent case — and a defendant's best chance to end the litigation before trial.
How patent trolls operate (and why the business model works)
A junk patent generates settlement income exactly the same way as a strong one, because nobody pays $1M to test a $200k demand. The mechanics matter because the failure modes — what makes assertion campaigns expensive or risky for the troll — are exactly where defendants find leverage.
§ 285 attorney-fee shifting in practice
§ 285 isn't a guaranteed remedy. It's a high-effort, high-evidence tool that pays off occasionally and dramatically — turning a $3M defense expense into a $3M plaintiff bill.
Patent reviews: IPR, PGR, and reexamination
Suing in district court to invalidate a patent costs $3-5M and takes years. The USPTO's post-grant review system does it for $200-500k and 12-18 months. For a defendant facing a weak patent, the choice is usually obvious.